updated 04:00 pm EDT, Fri April 3, 2009

2009 Apple Design Awards

Apple has announced that it is now accepting submissions for the 2009 Apple Design Awards, given for the best iPhone OS and Mac OS X applications. Each entry will be evaluated for platform innovation, technology integration and adoption, Internet connectivity, and the availability and language choices for users worldwide. Entries will additionally be judged on overall design and quality, such as performance tunings ranging from memory usage and start-up time to stability and efficiency.

Each platform offers six opportunities to win. Awards will be given to a maximum of four developers working with the iPhone 2.2.1 SDK, while another four will be given to Mac OS X 10.5 developers. A lone winner will be chosen for the best software using the iPhone 3.0 beta, while the same applies to the Mac OS X 10.6 category. The remaining two awards are being directed at students who have created Mac OS X 10.5 or iPhone 2.2.1 titles.

Most winning entries will receive two 15-inch MacBook Pros, two 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays, two 16GB iPhone 3Gs and two 16GB iPod touches, plus an ADC 2009 Premier Membership and reimbursement of their WWDC 2009 ticket. Student category winners can obtain similar prizes, but only one of each category, and a Student Membership instead of a Premier one and an 8GB iPhone instead of 16GB. The entry submission deadline is Monday, May 4th.